Patents Examined by Michael J. Hicks
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Patent number: 7805440Abstract: The system has a collection of a plurality of objects. Each object defines a node in a k-partite graph, such that, the nodes can be divided into a number of mutually exclusive sets such that all of the nodes are in exactly one of the sets; further edges occur only between nodes in different sets; The system also has a simplification process that aggregates one or more of the nodes into one or more categories and identifies a category node corresponding to each category. The category node inherits the mode and the edges of all the nodes in the respective category. Further, the system contains Directed Acyclic Graphs Indices (DAGIs) whose nodes may have a 1-1 mapping with the nodes in the k-partite graph. These indices can be used to aggregate and hide nodes in the k-partite graph. Aggregation occurs by selecting one or more non-leaf nodes in the DAGI and aggregating all descendent nodes.Type: GrantFiled: April 5, 2002Date of Patent: September 28, 2010Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Robert G. Farrell, Douglas N. Gordin
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Patent number: 7805445Abstract: Methods, systems and computer program products for simplifying complex data stream problems involving feature extraction from noisy data. Exemplary embodiments include a method for processing a data stream, including applying multiple operators to the data stream, wherein an operation by each of the multiple operators includes retrieving the next chunk for each of set of input parameters, performing digital processing operations on a respective next chunk, producing sets of output parameters and adding data to one or more internal data stores, each internal data store acting as a data stream source.Type: GrantFiled: July 11, 2008Date of Patent: September 28, 2010Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Stephen K. Boyer, Kenneth M. Johns, Jeffrey T. Kreulen, James J. Rhodes, Hovey R. Strong, Jr.
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Patent number: 7797327Abstract: A system and method for managing the development and manufacturing process of a pharmaceutical is disclosed. The method comprises capturing and recording the development and manufacturing history of the pharmaceutical drug in order to generate a product history. The product history is stored on a computer and is searchable in multiple data dimensions in order to easily retrieve information. The system automatically provides compliance management procedures in order to comply with regulatory standards for the pharmaceutical industry.Type: GrantFiled: September 21, 2007Date of Patent: September 14, 2010Assignee: Oracle International CorporationInventors: Anjali R. Kataria, Joseph Prang, Vinay Ambekar
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Patent number: 7774320Abstract: Systems, methods, computer program products, and means are provided for verifying the integrity of data structures. A system includes a first data structure, a second data structure, and a fingerprint block. The first data structure has a first set of unique identifiers. The second data structure has a second set of unique identifiers. The fingerprint block verifies correspondence between the first and second data structures by performing a mathematical function on the first and second sets of unique identifiers to produce a result indicative of correspondence.Type: GrantFiled: April 1, 2005Date of Patent: August 10, 2010Assignee: Apple Inc.Inventors: Mark Steven Day, Wenguang Wang, Puja Dilip Gupta, Christopher Yoshito Emura
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Patent number: 7756854Abstract: Updating values in a multidimensional database is provided. Responsive to receiving a value for updating a first cell, a set of first component cells, a set of subsequent component cells, a set of first target cells, a set of subsequent target cells; and a set of unmarked component cells are determined. The first cell, the set of first target cells, and the set of subsequent target cells are marked as changed cells. The set of first component cells and the set of subsequent component cells are marked as allocated cells. The set of unmarked component cells are marked as required cells. Calculations are performed for the first cell, the set of first component cells, the set of subsequent component cells, the first target cells, and the set of subsequent target cells; and only cells marked as changed cells are updated based on the calculations.Type: GrantFiled: April 25, 2007Date of Patent: July 13, 2010Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventors: Rick Soderstrom, Guillaume Senneville
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Patent number: 7752179Abstract: A method for extracting a consistent set of entity identifiers including associating each of a first plurality of entity identifiers with at least one of a first plurality of GroupIDs, associating each of a second plurality of entity identifiers with at least one of a second plurality of GroupIDs, combining the first plurality of entity identifiers with the second plurality of entity identifiers to generate a third plurality of entity identifiers, where each of the third plurality of entity identifiers is associated with at least one of a third plurality of GroupIDs, linking at least one of the third plurality of GroupIDs with at least one of the first plurality of GroupIDs based on the third plurality of entity identifiers and the first plurality of entity identifiers, removing a contaminated entity identifier from the third plurality of entity identifiers to extract the consistent set of entity identifiers.Type: GrantFiled: February 24, 2006Date of Patent: July 6, 2010Assignee: Intuit Inc.Inventor: Jeffrey H. Brown
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Patent number: 7739237Abstract: Data associated with a plurality of transactions in a data replication system including first and second nodes connected via communication media in a topology is replicated. Each node includes a database and a replication engine which performs data replication functions between the first and second nodes. Each transaction is one or more transaction steps or transaction operations. One or more initial transaction steps or operations of a transaction are sent from an input device to a first node. The one or more initial transaction steps or operations of the transaction are sent to the second node via the replication engine at the first node. If a communication failure is detected between the input device and the first node, the input device sends the remaining transaction steps or operations to the second node.Type: GrantFiled: February 6, 2007Date of Patent: June 15, 2010Assignee: Gravic, Inc.Inventors: Bruce D. Holenstein, Paul J. Holenstein
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Patent number: 7739281Abstract: Systems and methods for ranking Web pages based on hyperlink information in a manner that is resistant to nepotistic links are provided. In one embodiment, a Web search service is provided for returning quality query results. The vulnerability of existing ranking algorithms, such as PageRank, to Web pages that are artificially generated for the sole purpose of inflating the score of target page(s) is addressed. Intuitively, it is recognized that it is less likely to reach a particular page on a Web server having many pages via a random jump than it is to reach a particular page on a Web server having few pages, which implies that the influence of such a page upon another page by linking to, or endorsing, the other page is diminished. Thus, in various non-limiting embodiments, each Web server, not each Web page, is assigned a guaranteed minimum score. This minimum score assigned to a server can then be divided among all the pages on that Web server.Type: GrantFiled: September 16, 2003Date of Patent: June 15, 2010Assignee: Microsoft CorporationInventor: Marc A. Najork
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Patent number: 7689617Abstract: A method performed in a system involves, at a node within the system, receiving an input from a user, determining that the input contains an unknown word, presenting at least one response to the user, and based upon at least one additional input from the user, learning one or more associations for the unknown word.Type: GrantFiled: February 24, 2006Date of Patent: March 30, 2010Inventor: Prashant Parikh
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Patent number: 7660808Abstract: Media clips on a hard drive or other storage are automatically organized in collections and metadata automatically assigned to facilitate subsequent searching for media clips. A Clip Organizer software application initially scans a user's hard drive to identify folders containing user files of sound, picture, clip art, video and other media clips. Predefined types of folders are omitted in the scan to avoid identifying media clips that do not belong to the user or are part of another application program. A partially “flattened” collection hierarchy is created to simplify browsing the media clips. Sufficient empty files are included to enable a user to readily locate the collections, and metadata comprising keywords derived from the path of each media clip are associated with each of the media clips to facilitate subsequent searching for the files. In addition, the collection hierarchy is automatically updated as changes are made.Type: GrantFiled: May 14, 2004Date of Patent: February 9, 2010Assignee: Microsoft CorporationInventors: Eric L. Brechner, Joel E. Wiljanen
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Patent number: 7660810Abstract: A method, system and computer program product for revising and publishing electronic documents. Two sets of electronic documents are generated and maintained on first and second computers. One set is stored on a first computer, for example, as static web pages at a company site. Another set is stored on a second computer at a non-local site such as, for example, an Internet server where the electronic documents are accessible to clients. Any modifications in the set of electronic documents at the local or company site are logged in a log file, and the set of electronic documents at the non-local site is modified accordingly so as to produce what appears to the client as a “dynamic” set of web pages. The revision and publication occurs through generation on the first computer of at least one category list document containing an item identifier, an item category, and descriptive data with hyperlinks to underlying detailed description electronic document files.Type: GrantFiled: March 1, 2005Date of Patent: February 9, 2010Inventor: Arild O. Gautestad
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Patent number: 7644093Abstract: A method for creating a compressed database includes a step of receiving a data input file. The data input file defines a first set of data fields to be included in the database and includes a set of data elements to be included in the database. The method also includes identifying a second set of data fields in the data input file that are designated to contain a Boolean element, the second set of data fields being a subset of the first set of data fields. The method further includes defining one or more new data fields for collectively storing the Boolean elements, and modifying the first set of data fields to eliminate the second set of data fields. The method also includes generating a catalog that defines an arrangement of the first set of data fields, wherein the arrangement includes the one or more new data fields for collectively storing the Boolean elements.Type: GrantFiled: June 3, 2005Date of Patent: January 5, 2010Assignee: Siemens Industry, Inc.Inventors: Michael Soemo, Mark Gagner, John Stewart, Phil Pollock
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Patent number: 7640266Abstract: A computer program product has program code adapted to provide, upon execution, a database of objects and a database engine for managing the objects. Each object comprises metadata for describing the object and for defining a hierarchical structure of branches which constitutes the object and which includes relations to other objects. An individual branch has a metadata type, which is selected from a predetermined and limited set of n different metadata types and which represents one respective hierarchical level in the hierarchical structure, and a metadata value. An individual branch may also have an arbitrary number of other branches, of any hierarchical level strictly subordinate to the hierarchical level of the individual branch, connected to the individual branch as children thereof. The arbitrary number may include zero branches.Type: GrantFiled: September 1, 2003Date of Patent: December 29, 2009Assignee: Sixsteps ABInventors: Staffan Gestrelius, Gil Roitto
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Patent number: 7636730Abstract: Document clustering methods, document cluster label disambiguation methods, document clustering apparatuses, and articles of manufacture are described. In one aspect, a document clustering method includes providing a document set comprising a plurality of documents, providing a cluster comprising a subset of the documents of the document set, using a plurality of terms of the documents, providing a cluster label indicative of subject matter content of the documents of the cluster, wherein the cluster label comprises a plurality of word senses, and selecting one of the word senses of the cluster label.Type: GrantFiled: April 29, 2005Date of Patent: December 22, 2009Assignee: Battelle Memorial ResearchInventors: Antonio Sanfilippo, Augustin J. Calapristi, Vernon L. Crow, Elizabeth G. Hetzler, Alan E. Turner
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Patent number: 7634457Abstract: Systems, methods, and media associated with function-based index tuning for queries with expressions are described. One exemplary method includes receiving a query for which an index is to be recommended. The query may include an expression, thus the method may include identifying an expression in the query and generating a set of column statistics related to the expression. The method may also include identifying candidate function-based indexes associated with the query, generating a set of function-based index statistics related to the candidate function-based indexes, and recommending a candidate function-based index.Type: GrantFiled: November 28, 2005Date of Patent: December 15, 2009Assignee: Oracle International Corp.Inventor: Shilpa S. Lawande
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Patent number: 7634506Abstract: A networked computing system for reporting software events occurring on a client computer to a collection service is presented. The networked computing system comprises a collection service, communicatively coupled to a communications network, and a plurality of client computers. The collection service is configured to receive software events from a client computer over the communications network. Each client computer is also communicatively coupled to the communications network. Each client computer is further configured to generate a sampling value on the client computer for a corresponding software module, and detect the occurrence of a software event corresponding to the software module. Upon detecting the occurrence of a software event corresponding to the software module, each client computer determines whether a sampling value falls within a predetermined sampling range, and if so, reports the software event to the collection service over the communications network.Type: GrantFiled: May 11, 2005Date of Patent: December 15, 2009Assignee: Microsoft CorporationInventor: Alexander G Selkirk
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Patent number: 7627568Abstract: A method and a system for maintaining the freshness of a search engine server's database. A popularity parameter is defined, and a popularity value is assigned to each link in the search engine's database. The most popular links are selected for updating the contents stored, or associated with, the site to which the links refer. In one embodiment, popularity is based at least in part on the search results generated by the search engine in response to user queries.Type: GrantFiled: June 29, 2004Date of Patent: December 1, 2009Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.Inventor: Jim McKeeth
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Patent number: 7627573Abstract: Data is protected using locks, with the protected data sometimes being included in the locking messages, which may reduce overall processing latency, and/or reduce a bandwidth requirement for and/or number of storage operations accessing the native storage of the protected data. For example, the lock manager receives lock requests from each of the requesters, and selectively grants the lock requests. The protected data is typically communicated in the locking messages when the lock is highly contested, or at least two request for access to the data are pending. The lock manager initiates the sequence by indicating in a grant message to a requester to include the protected data in its release message. The lock manager then copies this data received in the release message to its grant message to the next requestor.Type: GrantFiled: March 27, 2004Date of Patent: December 1, 2009Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc.Inventors: John J. Williams, Jr., John Andrew Fingerhut, Jonathan Rosen
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Patent number: 7624108Abstract: A system for specifying read/write consistency for an application including an application including at least one transaction, wherein the at least one transaction includes at least one of a plurality of states, at least one of a plurality of transitions, and at least one artifact; and a database operatively connected to the application, wherein the application accesses data associated with the at least one artifact using a read/write consistency specification; wherein the read/write consistency specification specifies at least one selected from the group consisting of a read consistency and a write consistency for the at least one artifact within the transaction.Type: GrantFiled: June 25, 2003Date of Patent: November 24, 2009Assignee: Sun Microsystems, Inc.Inventors: Robert N. Goldberg, Bruce K. Daniels, Yury Kamen, Syed M. Ali
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Patent number: 7617179Abstract: A system providing methodology for cost-based enumeration of subqueries using a left-deep tree join enumeration algorithm is described.Type: GrantFiled: April 28, 2004Date of Patent: November 10, 2009Assignee: iAnywhere Solutions, Inc.Inventor: Anisoara Nica